Anaphylaxis is more than a medical term, but is a life changer and a very real medical emergency. I cringe when I consider that some of my colleagues have given a kid an injection of penicillin and have not waited 30 minutes for the possibility of a reaction. I saw my sister have this reaction when I was a kid, and her angioedema made her look like a Jack-o-lantern on Halloween night. She was fortunately brought to the hospital immediately and she responded to the epinephrine. It is important for us to consider the collateral damage done to the parents and siblings of someone that has an anaphylactic reaction to a medication or shellfish, iodine or any other agent including middle and upper aged people placed on an Ace inhibitor.
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Physician/ PA Teams
One of the few differences between PAs and NPs relates to an area that is poorly defined as supervision. In the most rudimentary form, PAs require it, NPs don’t. When people hear this word, supervision, most think of a taskmaster folding his or her arms while the PA kneels submissively caring for their patient. The reality of the word supervision is that it implies that the PA is not an independent practitioner, but is one joined at the hip to a physician. This relationship is loosely called the physician/PA team. By definition it infers that the PA has access to a physician by some manner, whether in person, by telephone, or by some other means of communication.
Contracts and Professional Liability Insurance Policy
Senior PAs are often contacted when former students find themselves in “practice problems.” This communication is an example of a practice problem and a solution. A former student has been working for a physician group for the past three years and is obliged to work at two practice locations seeing thirty patients at each. The PA has been instructed to spend no more than seven minutes on each patient, and this is only one of her problems.
Back To The Basics- Trauma I
As I look at both the demographics and the job openings on this site, it is obvious that many PAs and NPs serve or wish to work, in emergency medicine. I am a surgical PA by my employment history but I have spent 12 years in emergency medicine not including my two and a half years in Vietnam where I saw trauma on a daily basis. Emergency Medicine is both a primary specialty for many as well as a moonlighting or secondary job for both professions. In the past 10 years I have seen a large number of NPs working side by side with their PA counterparts in this exciting area.
Important Decisions for September
The month of September is one of those pivotal months due to events and seasonal changes. We start this month with preparation for a Labor Day Picnic and quickly move into the preparation for school, for those that have children. This includes all the supplies that you failed to purchase in August, school uniforms or clothes, backpacks and of course getting that college freshman off to their designated school. All of these actions apply to family members and the question is; what have you done for yourself?
A Tribute to the Memory of Sept 11, 2001
There are certain situations that have left an indelible memory which forever changed us, our attitudes and our destinies. Those that are baby boomers, born in my generation, will never forget the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. We remember where we were, what we were doing and remember the faces of frozen grief and horror on those we encountered at the moment the news was released and throughout the following few days.
Looking at the past and the future of Surgical PAs and NPs
From 1999 to 2004, I served as the Liaison to the American College of Surgeons representing the AAPA. Part of my job was to attend all general meetings of the College and particularly to be present at the Allied Health meetings as this is where APCs were discussed and decisions were born. This particular year…
Summer Heat – A Potential Deadly Enemy
Two weeks ago, my wife came home to realize that our landscaper was using our bathroom and was physically sick after working outdoors for a few hours in 93-degree heat. She hydrated him, let him use an air-conditioned room and drove 45 minutes to bring him home. While in Washington a week ago, I saw a runner moving through a mall like he was being chased by a German Shepherd. I envied his stamina until I saw him fall to the ground prostrate from heat exhaustion.
A Glimpse in the Mirror
In my personal diverse reading program, I am presently engaged in devouring Ian McEwan’s Solar. This novel centers on a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who is fast approaching 60. Although he is no longer an academic titan, his reputation allows him to collect huge speaking fees and impassively head a government program to battle global warming….
An American College of Clinicians White Paper on Medical Personnel Returning from Combat Duty
Position Paper sent by Bob Blumm, PA-C Past President ACC I am sending this paper to all agencies and forums to serve as a reminder that the ACC, which now serves NPs and PAs as an Advocate for the professions scope of practice, did in fact publish a white paper to honor and make a…